The present disclosure relates to a vehicle alertness control system that alerts a vehicle driver when the alertness of the driver decreases, that is, when the driver becomes drowsy.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2013-171546 describes one example of a vehicle alertness control system. The system is configured to accumulate log data in an alertness list by associating the present alertness of the driver with the vehicle driving state and the music reproduction mode. The vehicle drive state is obtained from the vehicle speed, the acceleration, and the like. The music reproduction mode is defined by the genre, tempo, volume, and the like of the music reproduced in the passenger compartment. When the alertness of the driver becomes less than a predetermined value, the system refers to the alertness list to select the music reproduction mode that is likely to increase the alertness of the driver. That is, the system selects the music reproduction mode that was used when the driver alertness was high. Then, the system replays music in the selected reproduction mode to alert the driver.
In the system described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2013-171546, the personal preference of the driver is considered to alert the driver. However, the process that increases the alertness is performed on the driver in a unidirectional manner. Thus, there is still room for improvement to further accurately increase the alertness of the driver.